WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

DANCING WITH 893.13

UPDATE: A little mid-day Rumpolian trivia to brighten up your day: First individual who sends us an email with the name of the last senate confirmed head of ATF from the time ATF was moved from Treasury to DOJ- at which point the head of the agency became a presidential pick with senate confirmation- will get an email from us with an extremely relevant clue to our real identity. The current head of ATF was sacked Tuesday over that screwed up operation on the Mexican boarder in which the ATF let an arsenal of weapons walk, one of which was later used to kill a federal agent.

Don't dally.

First, the important news: Dwayne Wade was NOT picked for the new season of Dancing with the Stars.

Litigation continues in Broward over 893.13 as per the JAA Broward Blog. There's a different Judge in the Middle District (Motto: "Causing confusion over Florida's Drug Laws Just for Fun") who issued this decision that the SAO in Broward says negates Shelton.

"It's Unconstitutional... It's Unconstitutional not..."

You're a private practitioner with a client with a nasty drug case. What to do? Sonny and Cher: The Beat Goes On....

The NFL starts a week from this Thursday. Go to FBPool12 at gmail dot com and sign up and hop in the pool.

Nice not to be cleaning up from a hurricane. Lets keep the good times rolling, so to speak.

Keep those Blog SpyCam pictures coming to Howardroak21 at gmail.

The 11th Circuit issued this strange decision yesterday in the Dr. Shaygan case in which Judge Gold issued public reprimands against the two prosecutors and assessed costs of over 600 thousand dollars against the government.

We vacate both the award of attorney’s fees and costs against the United States and the public reprimands of Cronin and Hoffman, but we deny the request of Cronin and Hoffman that we reassign the case to a different district judge at this stage.

Nothing like one part of the government forgiving another part of the government's misconduct. And no most prosecutors are not good. If they were they would dismiss the tons of B.S. cases that that to be defended everyday in court.

Rumpole, who cares, when the most important news of the day is not about the ATF, but instead about the FHP .....

From Autoblog:

Florida is facing a class-action lawsuit from drivers who have been ticketed for attempting to warn other motorists of hidden speed traps. According to WTSP 10 News, Eric Campbell was recently cited for just that, despite the fact that there is no law against using one's headlights to communicate with other drivers. The officer who ticketed Campbell used Florida State Statute 316.2397, even though the courts ruled that the police were wrongfully applying the law to crack down on vehicle-to-vehicle communication in 2005. Now Campbell wants his $100 ticket refunded and $15,000 in damages.

Since 2005, over 10,429 drivers have been cited for flashing their high beams, and if Campbell wins his case, Florida could be facing over $1 million in ticket refunds. But that's nothing compared to the $156.4 million the state could have to pay out if each driver is awarded $15,000 each.

Man when will this rain stop Rump? No criminal business. Thank goodness I splashed around in civil court PI stuff. Just settled a nice mid to high seven figure wrongful death case yesterday. And just received nice 739K check for botched gallbladder operation. My cut will see me though until the end of the year.

But I miss criminal.

Anyway- rainy day, hot 3L girl friend at the Grove Isle Condo awaits. You haven't really lived until you've seen her in her super tight shorts. Something about a girl 5'11 with hair to her super tight spinning toned butt that I can't resist.

Cap, Why do you think none of the judges will actually follow law and rule against those camera toll and red light tickets?It's a money thing.Can you imagine the financial nightmare of refunding all those fines?And what's wrong with flashing your lights to warn other motorists to slow down? does someone truly think it's obstructing the police?If it slows down the oncoming traffic isn't that the result we want? Safety, right?

In what a prosecutor in Tarrant County, Texas, says is the first such matter of its kind there, a juror in a civil auto accident case has been held in contempt for trying to friend the defendant on Facebook and discussing the case on his Facebook page.

Jonathan Hudson, 22, was sentenced last week to two days of community service after pleading guilty to four counts of contempt, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The matter came to the court's attention after the defendant told her lawyer and her lawyer told the judge. Jury instructions prohibit jurors from discussing their cases on social networking sites.

After he was dismissed from the jury on July 19, Hudson apologized to the defendant, Courtney Downing, in another Facebook message, saying that he didn't identify anyone or discuss case specifics on his Facebook page. "I pretty much just said I was selected to be on a jury," Hudson wrote. "I'm pretty upset over this and I'm sure you guys are too. I guess you know what it feels like to be prosecuted too. Good luck with everything."

Hudson's lawyer, Steve Gordon, tells the newspaper his client is "a very nice kid" who made "a silly mistake" and is sorry.

Starting in 2012, California jurors who tweet during trial or deliberations can be sentenced to jail time, under a new law Gov. Jerry Brown signed Friday.

The new legislation states that trial judges must inform jurors that the prohibition of communication or research about a case includes all forms of electronic or wireless communication or research. It was by prompted by numerous reports about jurors using cell phones and other devices to research cases or contacts, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Violators could face up to six months in jail.

A similar bill was vetoed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, because he believed the current warnings to jurors were adequate.

Yes, Judge Amy Steele Donner has resigned. She has been a Circuit Court Judge for 27 years having been first elected in 1984.

Her term was to run in 2014 in Group 5. The Governor will appoint her replacement and that person will not have to run in the 2012 election. They will effectively be on the bench for about 2 1/2 years before they face the voters in 2014. Expect her replacement to be named around December of this year.

Also, expect at least one other jurist to announce their retirement from the bench sometime this Fall.

As first reported by JAAB, criminal defense attorney, yes you heard right, criminal defense attorney Raag Singhal finally got the call he has been waiting for. After 15 rejections, Gov. Scott has appointed Raag to the Circuit Court bench to replace Vic Tobin.

Those of you lucky enough to know Raag, know that he is smart, compassionate, a great attorney, and will be an even greater asset to the bench.